Rivalry
by Tozz
Summary: Written for the Village Square writing challenge "What if a guy lost his girl-to another girl!" Stu is jealous of May's new friend, and wants to investigate...


All right, so here's a really short oneshot for the Village Square's writing challenge thread. :) The challenge was to write about a guy losing his girl—to another girl. XD

I haven't written many oneshots, so it was kind of nice to have something short and sweet. :D Enjoy~

* * *

Stu, by the tender age of eight-and-three-quarters, had already gone through three marriages and two divorces—all with the same woman.

Or the same _girl_, rather. His thrice-again wife was May, Barley's granddaughter. They'd been best friends since before he could remember, which was a pretty long time.

May had suggested the first marriage. The two of them were playing outside the church with Pastor Carter nearby, like they often did in the afternoons.

"What if we got married, Stu?" she'd asked shyly, looking down at the ground and tugging on her braids.

Stu, who was secretly pleased but also very surprised, could only stammer, "B-b-but—! Aren't _boys_ supposed to be the ones that ask?"

May lifted her chin and looked at him, seeming to consider this. Then she pressed a hand firmly on his shoulder until he was down on one knee. "Ask me, then," she'd said, and he obliged.

The two married and were happy for a time until they got into an argument over Stu's bug obsession, which May labeled as "nasty" and claimed she "didn't want a husband who liked bugs more than her." She nullified the marriage and left Stu heartbroken until the next day when all was forgotten and they agreed to remarry.

They met another rough patch when they fought over who would get a piggyback ride from Pastor Carter (a little silly, because the pastor hadn't planned on giving either of them a piggyback ride—though he was still young the pastor had a bad back). They split again, but as before, they eventually made up and were a happy married couple once more.

Or so Stu had thought. Recently, though, May had been canceling their play dates.

"I need to go help Grandpa with something today," she'd tell him vaguely when he'd ask her to play with him. Or she'd say, "A cow is sick so I need to watch over it all the time until it gets better."

And Stu couldn't help but notice it coincided with the arrival of the new farmer Claire.

Claire was a nice person; she was a grown-up but treated Stu and May just like anyone else. She didn't talk down to them or make them feel stupid. She even gave them piggyback rides.

And ever since she'd moved into the old farm down the road from May's house, May had been talking about her non-stop.

"Grandpa gave Claire a horse and Claire says she'll let me ride it once she's done training it!"

"Claire let me name her new baby chick!"

"Claire gave me a bottle of strawberry milk yesterday. I wonder how she knew it's my favorite?"

_I know it's your favorite too,_ Stu thought miserably. Between her constant absences and her never-ending stream of praise for Claire, it felt like his marriage with May was on the rocks again.

Keen to figure out just what was going on, Stu decided to follow May one day after she'd told him she was needed back at her grandpa's. It felt a little wrong, but he reasoned that he _was_ her husband after all, and he saw husbands spy on their wives all the time on TV.

So he shadowed her from the church back to Barley's farm. He felt relieved when he saw her take the familiar path home, but his stomach gave a sudden jolt when she veered off to the right, passing her house entirely. Taking a deep breath, he pushed forward, feeling sick with a nervous dread.

He found himself unsurprised when he followed her down the dirt road to Claire's farm. Unsurprised, but still devastated. He ducked behind the fence, watching as she knocked on Claire's door. The blonde farmer opened the door with her usual kind smile. She ruffled May's hair a little and the two began chatting animatedly.

Stu tore his eyes away and looked at his ring finger, where his imaginary wedding band was. His stomach was heavy with defeat. He had lost his young wife for a third time—and it was because of Claire.

He clenched his fists, cursing the wiles of the fair-haired witch.

Stu would do whatever it took to win May back.


End file.
